The present invention relates to a locating or finding system and, more particularly, to a locating system with a magnetometer for finding magnetic objects in the ground.
A magnetometer can be used to find a magnetic object or objects in the ground. Measured magnetometer values generated by the magnetometer can be graphically illustrated. When measurements are made to find a magnetic object with the magnetometer, an operator carrying the magnetometer walks over a predetermined measurement path and the magnetometer collects data as it and the operator move over the measurement path. The measured magnetometer signal values produced by moving the magnetometer over several parallel measurement paths can be illustrated together in a single graph or diagram.
A locating system is described in German Published Patent Application 39 22 303 A1. in which position dependent measured values along individual measurement paths at positions nearly equally spaced from each other are stored in a memory and thus can be related to the measurement paths. The accuracy of the relationship of measured magnetometer response to magnetometer probe position depends essentially on how exactly the measured values can be associated with the measured positions. So that as accurate as possible a correlation can be made, the operator can be provided with a predetermined step frequency with acoustic or visual signals. During the course of the measurement path the operator tries to synchronize his motion to the predetermined step frequency and thus to maintain as constant a step length as possible. From the step length and the predetermined frequency the position of the operator and thus the magnetometer probe on the measurement path can be approximately determined.